Glen and Raymond
by alynwa
Summary: A story to explain why Glen seems to be the only person in Red's world who can mouth off to him and not die.


"Oh, for God's sake, Glen! Just get it done! I pay you good money, probably _too_ good and I'm in no mood to hear your guff! Great! Thank you!" Red shouted as he threw his phone onto the couch and yelled at no one in particular, "That little SOB drives me _crazy!_ "

Liz had tensed up at the sound of Red yelling even as Dembe and Mr. Kaplan had begun to laugh. She had never heard him sound so frustrated, angry and annoyed at anyone. She watched bemused as he snatched up his phone and stormed out of the living room. After a few seconds, she looked at her companions and asked, "Do I even want to know?"

Kate Kaplan replied, "Sure, you do. Ask Red; he'll tell you. I _will_ tell you this: Glen Carter is the only person I know who can and will deliberately drive Raymond to the point of distraction and live to tell the tale. I'll see you all later. I have some reading I want to do."

Just then, Raymond returned with a glass of ice cubes, walked to the bar and poured himself a double shot of Patron. Grimacing as he took a sip, he looked at his associates and said, "I do apologize for that outburst. He _so_ enjoys pushing my buttons!"

Dembe checked his watch and stood. "I must leave now to get to the rendezvous on time." He pulled on his jacket and then went to Red. Bending down to hug and kiss him, he whispered in the older man's ear, "Liz wants to know about your relationship with Glen."

Red nodded and kissed Dembe's cheek. "Be careful. Call me when you're on your way back here." He watched through the window as Dembe jumped into the rental car and drove away from the house. He turned around and settled himself into the recliner. "So. You want to know about Glen and me."

"If you don't mind telling me."

"I don't. I've known Glen for a very long time. We go all the way back to junior high school. You've never met him, but he is, shall we say, vertically challenged. Technically, he's too tall to be considered a Little Person, but he's probably what a former doctor friend of mine called a 'dwarf variant' as his arms are just a shade too short for his torso and he can't really turn his head very well."

"His family moved three doors down from mine and he was placed in my class. I remember that when the teacher introduced him, some of the other kids snickered. He just kind of slid into his seat and looked straight ahead. I knew he had heard the laughing. When it was lunchtime, he tried to sit with some kids and they just got up and left. He looked like he was going to cry, so I went over and asked him if he minded if I joined him. He said no."

Liz had crossed her legs Indian – style and put her elbows on her knees and her chin in her cupped hands. "That was really nice of you, Red. He must have appreciated it."

Red laughed, "Not as much as you might think! Even then, Glen had a really weird sense of humor. He said several things to me that made me wonder if I was making a mistake attempting to befriend him. After school, we began to walk home together when a couple of the school bullies challenged him to a fight. I hate bullies."

"What did you do?"

"Glen wouldn't stop mouthing off; he was taunting them for wanting to gang up on somebody smaller. One of the guys jumped at him and I punched him at just the right angle to knock him to the ground. I had no idea how it happened. It was just luck, but it was enough to scare them both and they ran. As we walked home, he told me he was used to being picked on and that was why he mouthed off at people. Sometimes, his mouth saved his behind. Sometimes, his mouth got his behind kicked."

"Weird as he was, I liked him and we became friends, not best friends, but good friends. We hung out all the way through high school. After graduation, he went the University of West Virginia and I worked odd jobs until I was able to get into the Naval Academy at twenty. We stayed in touch; I even went to West Virginia to visit him. _Horrible_ place!"

"Anyway, jump forward in time a few years. My life changed dramatically one snowy night and I lost faith in everything and I left it all behind. I was charged in absentia with desertion and ultimately, with treason. I knew that everyone I had left behind had probably turned their back on me and would have no qualms about turning me in if I were to contact them."

"I was building everything I have now and those early years were pretty lean. I was staying in a very modest Windsor, Ontario hotel under an assumed name and one evening the Front Desk called to say I had a telephone call. The operator connected me and this… _annoying_ voice comes through the phone and says, 'What the hell kind of name is Sebastian Dedham? Are you kidding me with that?'"

Liz smiled at that and responded, "And it was this Glen guy. How did he find you?"

"Exactly the question I asked him. I figured if he could find me, anyone could. That's when I found out what a talent he has for tracking people. He told me that he just went back to just before I disappeared and starting following a trail. The things he used to track me were so esoteric, I doubted seriously that _anyone_ without his eye for details would have been able to find me. I said to him, 'Well now that you've found me, what do you want?'" He shook his head and took a few more sips of his tequila.

Liz leaned closer. "Don't leave me hanging, Red. What did he say?"

Red stared into his glass for a moment longer before replying, "He said, 'I wanted to tell you that you're still my friend and if you need me, I'm there.'"

"Wow."

"Indeed. It made me a little emotional which, of course, gave Glen the opening he needed to rag on me and call me names. That made me laugh and we began talking and it seemed like no time had passed. He told me he had gotten a job with the DMV and he gave me his cell phone number and told me to stay in touch. I remember he said, 'Don't worry, I'll call you someone else on my contact list.' When I asked him who, he said, 'I got it! Nick's Pizza.'"

"Why Nick's Pizza?"

"That was where he and I used to eat lunch on Saturdays after we went to the movies. Anyway, approximately one year later, I was trying to locate a certain arms dealer so I could broker a deal with him for one of my clients. Nothing I tried worked and none of my contacts were of any help. Out of desperation, I called Glen and asked him if he could find this guy the way he found me."

Liz said, "And he did."

"And he did," Red repeated, "For a sizeable fee. It was money well spent. From that point forward, if I need someone found, Glen is my go – to guy. There are other trackers out there, but I've never seen one as good as he is."

"And that's why you put up with him."

"No. If _that_ were the only reason, I would have killed him a long time ago for elevating my blood pressure. I put up with him because he went out of his way to find me and tell me he's still my friend and cares about me. Loyalty is everything to me. He's the _only_ friend I have from that time in my life who stood by me and he may very well be the reason my hairline has marched five inches closer to the nape of my neck, but I know I can trust him. If he tells me someone can't be found, they can't be found." He looked at his watch and frowned. "I thought I would have heard from Dembe by now." Just then his phone rang. "Dembe. How'd it go? Good. Good! Wonderful. We'll eat dinner when you get back and then you can give me all the details. Goodbye."

Liz put her legs down and stretched. "You look relieved."

"I'm always relieved when I know my people are safe."

"Speaking of safe, the Director must be furious that I was freed and he was implicated in the Cabal publicly. What if he decides to come after me?"

Red stood and said, "Come keep me company while I make dinner." As he led the way into the kitchen he added, "Don't worry about the Director. I have it on good authority that he's landed somewhere in the Netherlands and won't be returning."


End file.
